This year’s Voices of the Leaders of Tomorrow Report, developed with the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions, explores the views of two generations of leaders on key intergenerational conflicts and identifies common ground for collaboration.

For many generations, a common idea has been that children will be better off than their parents. The prospect of a brighter future for one’s offspring, with better education, prosperity and well-being, motivated parents to work hard and often make sacrifices. Yet today, at least on a global scale, this intergenerational ‘convention’ may no longer hold. Financial debts and the looming climate collapse pose serious threats to the next generation’s freedom, health and safety. And most recently, a new war has unsettled the world, reviving the old East-West conflict that we thought – wishfully maybe – we had overcome long ago.

The scale of these crises will require cross-generational cooperation, to ensure that the older generation’s legacy will not become a bane but a baton, leaving the next generation sufficient freedom to create a livable future for themselves. What are the chances for successful cooperation? Which challenges should be addressed with highest priority? And how should the transition of decision power be shaped? For this year’s Voices of the Leaders of Tomorrow Report (read and download the full Report here) – developed jointly by the St. Gallen Symposium and the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions – asked representatives of the younger and older generations to share their views on these topics.

Respondents from two generations

The “Leaders of Tomorrow,” a selected group of top talent from the network of the St. Gallen Symposium, represent voices of the younger generation. A total of 683 Leaders of Tomorrow from all over the world accepted the invitation to share their views on the topic of this report.

To acknowledge this year’s focus on intergenerational discourse, we decided – for the first time in the history of this study series – to explicitly give voice to a selected sample of “Leaders of Today” in an additional survey: 300 top managers and executives (C-suite level) aged 45 and older from the 2,000 largest publicly traded global companies in 26 countries around the globe also had the opportunity to share their generation’s perspective on the challenges that require intergenerational collaboration.

Main findings on conflicts and common ground

The Report paints a differentiated picture, of significant cleavages between generations, as well as common ground, upon which cross-generational collaboration on key challenges could be built.

The Leaders of Today are skeptical that the younger generation is really willing to take more responsibility in business and politics. The Leaders of Tomorrow disagree. Both sides should put their assumption to the test and perform a reality check by working together to initiate the transfer of decision-making power.

The climate crisis, future of education, and healthcare are common ground in the cross-generational agenda. But Leaders of Tomorrow see additional pressing issues they want to discuss, such as fair distribution of wealth and pension systems. The Leaders of Today should take these issues seriously.

Results will inform global initiative for a New Generational Contract

This year’s Voices of the Leaders of Tomorrow Report underlines the need for generations to come together and collaborate on issues where they mutually depend on each other – such as the climate crisis, education and health. Therefore, to take this Report’s findings forward, the St. Gallen Symposium and the Club of Rome are uniting to launch a joint initiative this May: “A New Generational Contract” will foster dialogue and, subsequently, encourage actions that put intergenerational fairness firmly at the centre of decisions taken during “our time”.

Read and download the full 2022 Voices of the Leaders of Tomorrow Report here.

St. Gallen Symposium, Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions